The No. 10 Stanford men's rowing team moved into the semifinals at the IRA Championships, advancing to the top-level semifinal in the varsity eight after the conclusion of racing Friday on Lake Mercer in New Jersey.

"Racing through the challenging process of morning heats and an afternoon repechage, the varsity eight prevailed and is now in the top-level semifinals," said Stanford coach Craig Amerkhanian. "The Cardinal will race Saturday morning for a chance to compete for a National Championship on Sunday."

After placing third in Friday morning's heat under foggy conditions, the varsity eight took control early in its afternoon repechage under sunny skies.

Stanford pushed its bow ahead of the field early on and took a length lead by the midpoint of the course. The Cardinal controlled the race throughout, winning the repechage by a length over Navy (5:40.202) with a time of 5:37.749 to advance into Saturday's A/B semifinals.

In its morning heat the varsity eight tried to maneuver through a crowded field of boats to the front. Yale surged out to the front early on and Northeastern settled into second, with the Cardinal chasing the Huskies for second. As the boats passed through 500 meters, Stanford was three seats back of Northeastern.

The Cardinal moved a length ahead of George Washington and tried to take water away from the Huskies for second. Northeastern used the final sprint to gain on Yale for the top spot and create an open-water advantage on Stanford.

The Cardinal placed third in the heat with a time of 5:49.518, three seats ahead of George Washington (5:50.188). Yale captured the heat with a time of 5:40.837, while Northeastern finished second with a time of 5:42.847.

With the win in Friday's repechage, the varsity eight will race in the first of two A/B semifinals on Saturday morning against California, Washington, Northeastern, Brown and Wisconsin. A top-three finish would put the Cardinal in Sunday's Grand Final.

The second varsity eight finished third in Friday's repechage. Wisconsin separated itself from the Cardinal and George Washington early on. Stanford was three seats back of the Colonials at 750 meters.

The Cardinal finished with a time of 6:06.181, a length back of George Washington (6:02.722). The Badgers captured the repechage with a time of 5:58.242.

Stanford's second varsity eight raced in the afternoon repechage after placing fifth in its morning heat. With Yale and Brown comfortably in front of the morning heat, Stanford battled Boston and St. Joseph's.

The Cardinal moved past St. Joseph's to take fourth, but Bates College made a late surge to move ahead of Stanford.

The Cardinal finished a length back of Bates (6:05.646) with a time of 6:09.771. Yale (5:47.739) and Brown (5:50.290) took the top spots, while Boston placed third with a time of 5:52.316.

The second varsity eight moves on to the second of two C/D semifinals on Saturday morning where it will face Oregon State, Navy, UC San Diego and Temple.